The Virginia Catholic Conference is sounding the alarm about a new zoning change being considered by the Alexandria City Council that could make it easier to build abortion clinics by designating them as a “health-related” entity.
The group, representing the diocese of Arlington and Richmond, Virginia, said this week that the new amendment under consideration would give abortion clinics “special status” in commercial and mixed-use areas by explicitly listing abortion clinics as health offices and medical care facilities.
“The change would allow clinics providing ‘abortion services’ to establish themselves in these areas ‘by right’, meaning without regard to potential impacts on the area and regardless of Alexandria’s need for primary care physicians and other lifesaving health clinics.” said the group.
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Protesters protest against abortion outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The Alexandria City Council is expected to meet on April 15 to consider the change. The Virginia Catholic Conference is urging local citizens to contact the city council to “oppose this political statement to prioritize abortion regardless of the impact on the area.”
“Abortion clinics should not be prioritized over other institutions that meet the current definition of a health profession office,” the group said in a statement they recommend convincing council members to oppose the measure.
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“Unlike the services provided by general practitioners, gastroenterologists and ear, nose and throat doctors, all of whom perform outpatient surgeries, abortion is not preventive or lifesaving healthcare. It ends lives rather than curing or saving them . ,” it said.
Demonstrators outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, condemn the abortion ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. (AP photo/Rick Bowmer)
“Instead of making unnecessary political changes to the zoning code, the city should focus on working with the healthcare community to serve those in need of primary care and preventive services, contributing to the overall well-being of the city and its communities. residents.” the group said, adding that the city should instead focus on efforts tailored to mothers and children.
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Currently, abortion in Virginia is legal during the second trimester — about 26 weeks into pregnancy. A full-term pregnancy is considered to be about 40 weeks.
Anti-abortion activists celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 24, 2022. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Following the Dobbs v. Whole Women’s Health Supreme Court ruling last summer, which overturned the 50-year federal precedent of Roe v. Wade and returned the issue of abortion rights to the states, urged Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin to allow abortion in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy , and the after. But those efforts have met opposition in the state legislature.
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According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a fetus can feel pain after 26 weeks. Around this time, experts say, a fetus has fully formed eyes, can hear and respond to sound, and can be pictured in an ultrasound as sucking his or her thumb.
The Alexandria City Council clerk did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Brianna Herlihy is a political writer for Fox News Digital.